1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of computer accessories. In particular, the present invention relates to a tool for aligning the display of a computer at the optimal viewing angle for a user.
2. General Background and State of the Art
Personal computers have made many working and every day tasks much easier, to the point where nearly every office and every household has at least one computer. Over time, personal computers have continuously gotten lighter, more compact, faster, and more powerful. A notebook computer (also called a laptop or portable computer) provides the user with the convenience of being able to use the computer at almost any location generally with ready access to the Internet.
One problem with computers is knowing whether or not the user is viewing the display at the best possible angle. Ideally, a line of sight line from the user's eye to the display should be perpendicular to the plane of the display. For digital photographers, it is especially critical when they are working on digital photographs on a computer that the display screen is at the optimum angle for viewing.
When viewing digital photographs on a computer display, the brightness of the displayed image changes with the angle of the display in relation to the viewer's eye. While using a notebook computer, in particular, for working on digital photographs is quite convenient for a photographer, it is crucial that the images be viewed at the correct angle. With today's computers, even with calibrated display screens, it is difficult to know whether or not the user is viewing the images at the best possible angle.
Attempts have been made to provide a means to ensure that a user of a computer is viewing the display screen at the best angle. In particular, methods and devices to accomplish this task are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,890,299 (Giordano) and Published United States Applications Nos. 2006/0207117 (Sobol) and 2008/0150889 (Stern et al.). The methods and devices disclosed in these documents, however, are rather complicated and require significant modifications to a computer to use.
Thus, there is a need for an alignment tool for use with a computer display that is easy to use, compact, and interchangeable, in that can be used with any existing computer, or may be provided already attached to a new computer at the point of purchase.
There is also a need for an alignment tool for use with a computer display that does not require any modifications or additional software or ancillary equipment in order to be used for its intended purpose.
The alignment according to the present invention overcomes the problems of prior art devices and methods and provides further advantages, as will be described.